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Kraig Brown, partnerships and development manager for Digital Xtra Fund and Kate Forbes, minister for public finance and digital economy, with pupils from Anderston Primary School in Glasgow

A business-backed fund to find the next generation of technology and digital experts in Scotland has been doubled from £50,000 to £100,000.

Digital Xtra Fund is a Scottish charity which supports IT initiatives that encourage young Scots to consider careers in digital technologies and close the digital skills gap.

This year’s funds will support 22 computing projects across the country, ranging from IoT to app development. The fund has distributed £550,000 in support of 55 initiatives, engaging more than 20,000 young people across the country.

Funding and support have been provided by industry partners such as Edinburgh-founded travel tech firm Skyscanner, bank JP Morgan, and the Micro:bit Educational Foundation. “Digital skills are becoming increasingly essential for most careers, regardless of industry, so it is vital that we equip as many children as possible with these skills from a young age,” said Kraig Brown, partnerships and development manager for the Digital Xtra Fund.

“Our mission is to help young people in Scotland acquire vital digital skills through exciting and engaging digital skills initiatives they can get involved in. We are there to help hard-pushed educators who may not have the time or resources to teach these important skills. The demand for people with digital skills will be insatiable in Scotland in the future so we need to create a pipeline of young people with the necessary digital skills now, so that we can thrive as a digital nation.”